Religion News

Paris -
A rare royal tapestry housed at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris has been spared the water damage officials feared, after firefighters doused the great mediaeval edifice to extinguish last April's devastating blaze.

Bangkok -
Pope Francis will travel to Thailand in November, the Vatican said Friday, in a visit to Asia that will sweep in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which were both decimated by atomic bombs in 1945.

Amritsar -
Britain has never apologised for the 1919 massacre at Amritsar in India but the head of the Church of England prostrated himself to say sorry in a personal capacity and "in the name of Christ".

Pope Francis said Tuesday he was "not afraid" of a schism in the Roman Catholic Church, in reference to attacks by conservative cardinals who frequently take aim at his papacy."I'm not afraid of schisms.

Antananarivo -
Hundreds of thousands of people on Sunday gathered on the outskirts of the Madagascan capital Antananarivo to hear Pope Francis say mass and deliver a homily condemning "privilege and exclusion" on the second leg of his three-nation African tour.

Port Louis -
Thousands of pilgrims in Mauritius marched Saturday to the shrine of a venerated Catholic missionary where Pope Francis will arrive next week for the first papal visit to the Indian Ocean island in 30 years.

Maputo -
Pope Francis, on the first full day of his visit to Mozambique, heaped praise Thursday on a peace deal between government and rebels and offered solidarity to victims of two devastating cyclones.

Maputo -
Pope Francis began the first full day of his visit to Mozambique on Thursday, praising a peace deal between government and rebels and offering solidarity to victims of two devastating cyclones.

Guwahati -
After living in India all his life, father-of-two Gokul Chandra Saha woke up last weekend to learn he was among almost two million people in the religiously diverse state of Assam that the government had suddenly deemed to be foreigners.

Guwahati -
India's foreign ministry has again defended a controversial citizenship register in Assam state after criticism from the United Nations, saying the almost two million people excluded from the list would not become "stateless".

Vatican City -
Pope Francis called Sunday on individuals across the world to make changes to their daily habits to stop climate change in its tracks, and to put pressure on their leaders "before it's too late".

Guwahati -
Almost two million people in northeast India were left facing statelessness on Saturday after they were excluded from a citizenship list aimed at weeding out "foreign infiltrators", in a process the central government wants to replicate nationwide.

Guwahati -
Security was tightened Friday in the Indian state of Assam for the release of a citizens' list that could potentially lead to several million people becoming stateless, most of them Muslims, in a process the government wants to replicate nationwide.

Bangkok -
A controversial Tibetan monk whose best-selling book on Buddhist wisdom was overshadowed by multiple allegations of sexual abuse has died in Thailand, his official social media account reported.

New Delhi -
India's government sought Thursday to ease concerns about an imminent "citizens' register" in the state of Assam that has left several million people, mostly Muslims, fearful of becoming stateless.

Bejing -
A Chinese Catholic bishop has been ordained with the joint approval of the Pope and Beijing for the first time under an agreement intended to encourage a rapprochement between China and the Holy See.

New York -
US President Donald Trump has been hit by a wave of criticism for accusing Jewish Democratic voters of "disloyalty," but his comment also highlighted the unease of some in the community with its traditional party of choice.

Abuja -
Shiite leader Ibrahim Zakzaky, who was granted permission to travel to India for medical care after years in detention, returned to Nigeria on Friday following a row over his treatment, his supporters said.

Paris -
French workers on Tuesday began efforts to remove lead from the area around Notre-Dame cathedral which was contaminated by the devastating April fire, sparking public health concerns and forcing the suspension of restoration work.

Extent of Islamic beliefs (shades of green) from North Africa into the Pacific -- a 'ring of fire.'

Wikipedia

ashley.adcox

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany, NY: Thinking about death nearing could generate religious beliefs as people age, University of Chicago researchers speculated. But could spritualty deepen from more years of pondering life's mysteries?